Does chess speak for itself?

'On the chessboard, lies and hypocrisy do not survive long. The creative combination lays bare the presumption of a lie; the merciless fact, culminating in the checkmate, contradicts the hypocrite.' - Lasker

Fun question. In this context… what is “chess”? Are you asking if chess pieces “speak”? Or are you asking if the game of chess is another language people use to communicate?

Chess pieces don’t move themselves… so it’s a form of communication between players where moves themselves articulate the threats and plans of each player for the other to interpret and decide how they wish to respond. What about human vs bot or bot vs bot?

“The medium is the message”. - Marshal McLuhan

In Niemann’s case it means “no comment, I don’t need to explain or justify my moves” [because the rules and objective of chess are well known and every move is to reach that goal].

I am not aware of how I should decipher what you just wrote but I will assume that you mean yes.